


Who I Am

by xsmith



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Post-Hawk Moth Defeat, rooftop meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22066291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xsmith/pseuds/xsmith
Summary: Hawkmoth had been defeated, Gabriel Agreste was in jail, and there would be no more akuma. Ladybug couldn't wait for Chat to get there, couldn't wait to tell him she's finally ready to take off the mask.The conversation doesn't go quite the way she expected.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 89





	Who I Am

**Author's Note:**

> Happy new year everyone! Been working on this one for about a month, hope you all like it. This is a one-shot, and is complete. Thank you to my brothers for beta-ing.

Paris was quiet tonight, and for the first time in a long time she knew it was going to stay that way. Hawkmoth had been defeated, Gabriel Agreste was in jail, and there would be no more akuma. No more sleepless nights, no more exhausting battles, no more obviously fake excuses.

No more need for secrets between partners.

Ladybug couldn't wait for Chat to get there, couldn't wait to tell him she's finally ready to take off the mask. He would be the first to know, and then they could discuss the possibility of telling their families. And their friends. He might like to tell his after all, even if she had no intention of telling hers. Alya aside, she couldn't bear the thought of poor Adrien's face if she told him she had been the one to take his father away. It was bad enough seeing glimpses of him on the news, trying desperately to avoid the cameras being shoved in his face in the wake of his father's arrest.

None of them had seen him since before the news broke, but he had let all his friends know via text last night that he would be going to stay with a relative in Italy. She hoped he would be happy there. It broke her heart to know she wouldn't be getting their house with three kids and a hamster, but maybe he could find that with someone else. Maybe she could too.

She shook herself to get rid of the gloomy thoughts. Tonight wasn't about Adrien, it was about Chat. Her wonderful goof-ball of a partner, who had wanted to know her identity from day one. He had been so patient, respecting the boundaries she had set even when he didn't agree with them. He had supported her through so much, and this was the only thing he had ever asked in return. Tonight he would get his wish. Tonight they would see each others faces for the first time, and learn each others real names. She was less nervous about it than she thought she would be. Telling her parents tomorrow would be another matter, but she knew he would accept her, flaws and all.

Ladybug wondered what Chat would be like as a civilian. Perhaps she would recognise him as a customer in the bakery, or from passing him on the street. Maybe they'd never met, and her Kitty would be a stranger to her.

What would he look like? Would his eyes still be green without the transformation? Or would they become the stereotypical blue to go with his blond hair? Would his hair still be wild and untamed or would he have it neatly combed? Would they have anything in common? Would he like video games and music, or would her hyperactive Kitty prefer sports? She had so many questions buzzing around her head, and he was bound to have dozens of his own. Maybe tonight they'd both find some answers.

She caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to watch Chat Noir leap across the last few rooftops to join her. “Chat!”

He landed gracefully, turning to face her. “Hello Ladybug.”

“We did it!” She cried, unable to contain herself. “We won!” She threw her arms around him and felt him stiffen for a moment, before he tentatively wrapped his arms around her as well.

“Yeah,” he breathed, relaxing slightly. “It's finally over...” His voice sounded a little thick, heavy with emotion. She understood the feeling.

Giving him a final squeeze, she stepped back. “Hawkmoth is gone,” she said softly. “We don't need to hide any more.” She caught his hands in her own and offered him a shy smile. “I know how much you've looked forward to this.”

“L-looked forward to...”

“I'm ready to tell you who I am.”

“...Oh...”

“It's crazy, you know?” She chuckled, looking into her Kitty's awe-struck expression. “I really thought I'd be more nervous about this, but I'm... excited. It feels right.” She couldn't wait to introduce him to everyone. He'd get a kick out of her best friend running the Ladyblog, and her parents would love him. He would probably love them too, especially if they continued their trend of trying to feed ridiculous amounts to everyone she brought home. “Are you ready Kitty?”

“...No. I'm not.”

Visions of a very bloated Chat having to be rolled out of the bakery came to a screeching halt as her mind went blank. “What?”

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, pulling away. “I know I was always the one pushing for the reveal, but I just can't. Not now.” She watched as her strong, confident partner seemed to crumble before her eyes. “I can't let this be how we say goodbye.”

“Goodbye? Chat, what are you talking about?” She took a step forward, and he took one back. What was going on? “This isn't the end of our partnership, it's just the start of a new chapter.”

“Hawkmoth is gone, we're not needed anymore.”

“So what? We're still partners, you're still my best friend.”

He looked away from her, shoulders tense, hands fisted at his sides. “Please don't make this harder. I don't want to do this now.”

“Why are you being like this?” She demanded. This was supposed to be their moment of triumph, a celebration! Why was he ruining it? “You've always wanted to know who I am, and I'm finally ready to tell you.”

“Things change. People change.”

“Not that much! And not that quickly!” She pushed her frustration down, trying to control her voice. Getting angry wouldn't help right now. “Chat,” she tried again, more gently. “I don't know what I did to make you feel this way, but please believe me when I say I want you in my life. I'm not going anywhere.”

“I am,” he whispered, voice choked. His eyes flicked back to hers, then darted away again. “I... I l-lost my father yesterday. I don't have any family left in Paris. I... I'm moving out to the country tomorrow, to stay with a cousin.” He took a deep breath. “I came tonight to say goodbye, and to t-tell you that I'm leaving the- the ring behind.” Chat looked at her, eyes pleading for her to understand. “If a new threat appears you'll have a new partner. I'm not just leaving you alone.”

She stared at him, her mind feeling clouded by a fog. She heard the words, but somehow they lost all meaning somewhere between her ears and her brain. Slowly, her mind registered the last few words, the only part of his speech that made sense. “...You're leaving?”

“I have to,” he whispered. “I don't have anywhere else to go.”

Ladybug felt her insides freeze over as clarity came rushing back. They were leaving her. Both of them. The boy she loved and the boy who loved her, gone within a single day. Her dreams for the future shattered, devoid of blond boys with beautiful smiles. She would never be lucky enough to find anyone who would ever compare to the two of them and so would grow old alone, forced to fill her house with cats instead of children. She would never-

No. This wasn't about her.

She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him before he could back away again. “I'm so sorry about your father.”

His breath hitched as he trembled in her embrace, and then he was clinging to her and sobbing into her shoulder. She gently guided him down to sit on their rooftop, stroking his hair in a way she knew he found soothing, and just let him cry.

Chat's father was dead.

He'd mentioned the man once or twice, mostly in a 'I gotta get back or he'll realise I snuck out again' sort of way. Chat's only family in the city, and he was gone. For one wild moment she considered asking him to stay at her house, but that would never work. Her parents were open and loving, but even they would never agree to take in some random boy they'd never met. And she couldn't go with him either, because she doubted his family would be any more welcoming. Maybe they could get a place of their own... but they were much too young, and how would they pay for it? Maybe if she asked- But no. There was no way around this. Chat would have no choice but to leave Paris tomorrow, and go stay with whatever family he had left.

She would have no choice but to let him go.

Ladybug lost track of how long they sat like that, but eventually the sobbing slowed and stopped. She kept stroking her hand through his hair, humming a half-forgotten lullaby. Anything to prolong this final moment before they would lose each other.

But then, who said it had to be forever?

“Chat? I still want to tell you who I am.”

Chat stiffened in her arms. “I... I can't...”

“You don't need to tell me who you are if you aren't ready,” she murmured. “But I still want to tell you.”

“...Why?”

She met his tired gaze with determination. “Because you're leaving tomorrow, and it could be years before you're able to come back. But WHEN you come back, I want you to be able to find me.” She scratched him behind his kitty ear, earning a faint rumble. “This may be goodbye, but it doesn't have to be forever. Please.”

He just stared at her, and for one heart-stopping moment she thought he would refuse. But then she heard a faint, “...OK.”

“OK?” She asked, wanting to be sure. “Is it OK?”

“Yes my Lady.”

She smiled in relief. He would come back to her some day, this wasn't the end. “OK,” she whispered. “Spots off.”


End file.
